Barry Robson insists Aberdeen know the job is not yet done after they overtook Hearts and seized control of the race for third in the Premiership.
The Dons’ 2-0 Pittodrie win over Derek McInnes’ Kilmarnock – with two goals from red-hot frontman Luis “Duk” Lopes – coincided with Hearts losing by the same scoreline to St Mirren at Tynecastle, results which catapulted the Reds two points above the Jambos.
Having at one point found themselves deep in the bottom six and trailing the Edinburgh side by 10 points in their bid to secure a slot which all-but-guarantees lucrative European group stage football, Robson’s Aberdeen have completed a remarkable turnaround in recent weeks.
However, with seven games of the campaign left, including a post-split visit to Tynecastle, Robson will not be abandoning his one-game-at-a-time outlook until the campaign closes.
He said: “That’s where the club wants to be. Hearts, Hibs – everybody wants to be there.
“There’s a long way to go for that and it’s not something we’re thinking about right now.
“I never thought about it then (when he took the job) and I’ve not thought about it now. I genuinely haven’t.”
Robson added: “That’s what I am, and that’s where we are.
“What I said to the players was: ‘alright well done, you enjoy tonight, but we move on. You come in Monday and we’re ready to go again’.
“We’ve got Ross County (on Friday night), which is a really difficult game again on a tight pitch and we need to go and focus on that.
“Credit to the players, they’ve been outstanding. They gave me everything today and at times we look so quick – we’re hard to deal with when we’re like that.”
Robson – who initially took over from axed boss Jim Goodwin on an interim basis before earning the manager’s job until the end of the season – has turned the tables on Hearts by engineering a remarkable run of form.
The Reds’ disastrous post-World Cup run and cripplingly-poor away form are becoming a distant memory, as Robson and assistant Steve Agnew have now led their team to six wins in seven Premiership matches, including a streak which stands at five league wins in a row. Something the Dons have not managed since August 2015, during McInnes’ Pittodrie tenure.
Four of those five victories have come with shut-outs.
Robson’s rating on this sparkling start to his managerial career and time in the Pittodrie hotseat?
He said: “It’s been ok.
“It’s because I’ve been in this game so long – I know what’s round the corner.
“You know what can happen, and you’ve got to be the best you can be every day, and if we do that we’ll be alright, but if we don’t – and we do take our foot off the gas – you never know.
“I’m not getting carried away, you hear it every time I speak. I’ve not achieved anything.
“Same when I was a player – I’ll sit down at the end of the season and see where we’re at. Until then, nothing changes, we move on.”
Duk’s talents are going to help Aberdeen keep winning
Saturday’s double, including his opener after just 16 seconds, means Dons striker Duk is now level with Bojan Miovski – who bagged both assists against Killie – on 17 goals in all competitions this season.
Cape Verde international Duk has scored five in his last four outings, and Robson knows helping the striker maintain his hot streak will be vital in the weeks ahead as Aberdeen look to keep their run – and charge to secure third – going.
Robson said: “You see it suits him the way we play.
“He’s on a good run of form, and he’s got great pace and enjoying his football at the minute.
“Hopefully we can keep him up to speed with it and keep him going.
“We need to win games, and he’s going to help that.”
Duk, 23, spoke in the Portuguese media earlier this week about using Aberdeen as a potential stepping stone to the riches of the English Premier League, and Robson added: “The more you do your job, the more people will look at you.
“But we’re not thinking about that right now. He’s a humble kid, who does well for the team at the minute, and we just need to keep feeding him.”
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